Baku-APA. Shiite Houthi rebels on Friday clashed with the army and Sunni militia in northwest of Yemen's capital Sanaa for the second day, which left 71 people killed, including 30 solders and eight civilians, and drove hundreds to flee their homes in an escalation of violence after weeks of hostility in the city's outskirts, APA reports quoting Xinhua.
The rebels launched an unexpected attack against the state-run Yemeni TV since Thursday night after they clashed for days with Sunni militia in nearby Iman University, run by Sunni Islah party, and barracks of the 1st Armored Division that allied with the Muslim Brotherhood's branch in Yemen.
Medical sources said Friday afternoon that 30 soldiers were killed in the clashes which also claimed lives of 10 Sunni fighters, 23 Houthis and eight civilians in the past 24 hours. On Wednesday, clashes between the army and rebels in the same area left at least 20 soldiers killed.
The army repelled the rebels on Friday afternoon after more soldiers and tanks were deployed in that area. However, the rebels continued to besiege the nearby Iman University and 1st Armored Division. Residents in Sanaa's northwest outskirts said they heard explosions all day long till Friday night and many houses were damaged in the fierce fighting.
Hundreds of people fled their homes by the clashes which also forced the country's main airport to shut down.
Most of foreign airlines suspended flights to Sanaa International Airport, about 10 km away from the state TV, for 24 hours due to clashes between the army and Shiite Houthi rebels in the Yemeni capital, the official Saba news agency reported on Thursday night.
"The foreign airlines decided to suspend flights to Sanaa for 24 hours due to the development in the capital," Saba quoted the civil aviation authority as saying.
The airlines will review their decision on Friday on whether or not to resume flights based on the security situation in Sanaa, it added.
The deadly clashes broke out as negotiations between the Sunni- dominated government and the Shiite Houthi group run into deadlock after the rebels walked away from talks on a solution to end the crisis on Monday, saying there was "foreign intervention."
UN envoy to Yemen Jamal bin Omar returned to Sanaa on Friday after a three-day visit to the northern Saada province, the stronghold of the rebels. Hours of talks between the envoy and the Houthi leader, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, failed to broker a ceasefire deal, however, the two sides agreed on a set of points to establish an agreement between the government and Houthi group, according to Saba news agency.
Negotiations will continue until a peace deal is nailed, Saba said.
Tens of thousands of supporters of the Houthi group rallied in Sanaa since early August, demanding the government to resume fuel subsidies and resignation of the cabinet. The protesters also set up sit-in tents around several ministries. Meanwhile, the Houthi group mobilized thousands of armed fighters at entrances of Sanaa.
The Houthis have been fighting against the Yemeni army in the country's north for years. The last ceasefire deal between the rebels and government was reached in 2010, after a six-year war during which the rebels took control of Saada province.
However, the group started to further its influence to south in late 2013 when it provoked sectarian conflicts in the northern Amran province, only 60 km north of the capital.
After it defeated the army and Sunni militia in Amran, the group advanced to the capital, taking a string of towns and cities in the past weeks.
The Yemeni authorities accused the Houthi group of seeking to control the capital, which was denied by the rebels.
Earlier this month Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi raised a deal in which he announced small fuel price cut and called on the Houthis to join into a new cabinet, a compromise deal that was rejected by the Houthis.
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